1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to an attachment to a zipper slide for reducing zipper snags, and relates in particular to a one-piece attachment which may be snap-fit or molded to a zipper slide.
2. Description of Prior Developments
Guides for zipper slides have been developed for the purpose of minimizing snags between the zipper slide, zipper teeth and surrounding fabric material, as well as snags with other objects which may become lodged between the zipper slide and the zipper teeth. Although these guards provide adequate performance, their structure can be somewhat complicated and the guards can be difficult to mount on the zipper slides. An example of such a zipper guard is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,819,308, which is incorporated herein by reference.
Accordingly, a need exists for a guard for a zipper slide which is easy to mount, inexpensive to fabricate and install, and which can be quickly and easily applied to new zippers or retrofitted to existing zippers.
The present invention has been developed to meet the needs noted above, and therefore has as an object the provision of a guard for a zipper slide which is easy to mount on a zipper slide and which is inexpensive to manufacture.
A further object of the invention is to provide a guard for a zipper slide which can be quickly and easily retrofitted to existing zipper slides.
These and other objects are met by the present invention which is directed to a one-piece homogeneous plastic molded guard for a zipper slide. The guard includes a resilient snap-fit mounting which allows the guard to be quickly and easily mounted to a lug or lugs typically provided on conventional zipper slides.
By molding the entire guard as a single one-piece homogeneous molding, the cost of the guard is minimized. Moreover, no assembly of components is required to construct the one-piece guard. It is quickly and easily applied with a simple snap-fit mounting to a zipper slide, either at the time the zipper is fabricated or retrofitted on an existing zipper.
A particular advantage of the present invention is its simple one-piece molded construction which minimizes its cost and facilitates its mounting on a zipper slide. Another advantage of the present invention is the provision of a simple snap-fit mounting which positively secures the guard to a lug or lugs present on most zipper slides.
The aforementioned objects, features, and advantages of the invention will, in part, be pointed out with particularity, and will, in part, become clear from the following more detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which form an integral part thereof.